Obama Confident About Reelection Chances

President Barack Obama expressed confidence that he would win
reelection last night at a fundraiser for the Democratic National
Committee — he even joked about the weather at his second
inauguration.

"The odds of me being reelected are much higher than the odds of
me being elected in the first place," he quipped. Obama is facing
increasingly difficult poll numbers, with his job approval at 39
percent nationally, and his candidacy trailing Texas Gov.
Rick Perry and former Massachusetts Gov.
Mitt Romney in important battleground
state polls.

From the White House transcript:

Now, I know that, over the last couple of months, there have been
Democrats who voiced concerns and nervousness about, well, in
this kind of economy, isn’t this just -- aren’t these just huge
headwinds in terms of your reelection? And I just have to
remind people that -- here’s one thing I know for certain:
The odds of me being reelected are much higher than the odds of
me being elected in the first place. (Laughter and
applause.) And in that spirit, I just want to point out, it
was somebody during the photo line who -- I think right here --
made what I think is a very important wish. And that is
that my next inauguration is warmer than the last one.
(Laughter.)

But we remain very confident about our ability to win a contest
of ideas in 2012 -- as long as we can get the message out.
Now, the campaign has not begun; my job -- I’ve got a day job,
and I’m going to have to spend a lot of time continuing to govern
over the next several months. And that’s why your voices --
you being out there talking about the American Jobs Act, talking
about our track record in terms of what we’ve done over the last
three years, talking to people about what’s at stake -- is going
to be so important.

Well, this is one of those times where all of you are going to
have to be my ambassadors over the next several months, to make
sure that people who I think continue to believe in change and
continue to believe in hope are mobilized effectively in
2012. And if you’re there with me, then I’m confident that
we’ll have an inauguration, although I can’t promise good
weather. (Laughter.)